Overheating problem.

[Occasionally6]

Bleeding it once should be enough; there's either air in the system or not. The only way air can get in again is if there is a coolant leak out.

Bleeding is ideally done with the thermostat open i.e. with the engine hot enough for that to be so, and the engine running to allow any air in the system to be swept out with coolant flow.

If the thermostat has an air bleed hole - which should be at the top - then cold, engine running will be OK. Remember, it was filled cold at the factory (albeit with pressurized flow).

You might get an idea of the radiator condition by using a garden hose as a low volume flow tester. Even a visual inspection of the tubes that you can see under the filler neck can be a clue.

[redpoint5]

No harm in continuing to drive the car if it's only going up to 220 or so degrees, until you find the time to actually fix it.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Xist

You are your own buddy? That is probably a good thing.

Huh?

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Occasionally6

Bleeding it once should be enough; there's either air in the system or not. The only way air can get in again is if there is a coolant leak out.

Bleeding is ideally done with the thermostat open i.e. with the engine hot enough for that to be so, and the engine running to allow any air in the system to be swept out with coolant flow.

If the thermostat has an air bleed hole - which should be at the top - then cold, engine running will be OK. Remember, it was filled cold at the factory (albeit with pressurized flow).

You might get an idea of the radiator condition by using a garden hose as a low volume flow tester. Even a visual inspection of the tubes that you can see under the filler neck can be a clue.

In a perfect world, if you spend the money, they fill them with slight pressure and a hose hooked to the bleeder that collects the overflow for future use.
Obviously if the cost of the radiator is an issue then an expensive piece of equipment to do a job once, makes little sense and I referenced a previous experience when I had to go back to the shop to get my Riviera bled again.

It takes little effort to break the bleeder loose a few times to confirm the system has no air pocket, I call that good insurance and once done then you can just monitor the recovery bottle for any change the would indicate loss of coolant.

regards
Mech

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

In a perfect world, if you spend the money, they fill them with slight pressure and a hose hooked to the bleeder that collects the overflow for future use.
Obviously if the cost of the radiator is an issue then an expensive piece of equipment to do a job once, makes little sense and I referenced a previous experience when I had to go back to the shop to get my Riviera bled again.

It takes little effort to break the bleeder loose a few times to confirm the system has no air pocket, I call that good insurance and once done then you can just monitor the recovery bottle for any change the would indicate loss of coolant.

regards
Mech

Well you were right, just as I suspected. There is major, major cold spots on the radiator (up to a 40° difference). I went to get the radiator but they didn't have it, and won't have it until Monday. Which is ok.

[The donkey CRX]

Hey Wolf, are you buying a true Honda brand thermostat from the Honda dealer? I had this same problem when I bought a "Auto Zone" brand thermostat. After I finally replaced it with a genuine Honda part, it fixed my problem. The two thermostats even looked different even thou the after market one claimed to be a direct replacement.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by The donkey CRX

Hey Wolf, are you buying a true Honda brand thermostat from the Honda dealer? I had this same problem when I bought a "Auto Zone" brand thermostat. After I finally replaced it with a genuine Honda part, it fixed my problem. The two thermostats even looked different even thou the after market one claimed to be a direct replacement.

No but the one on there previously was one directly from Honda and it worked just fine and it was still overheating.

[Occasionally6]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

In a perfect world, if you spend the money, they fill them with slight pressure and a hose hooked to the bleeder that collects the overflow for future use.
Obviously if the cost of the radiator is an issue then an expensive piece of equipment to do a job once, makes little sense and I referenced a previous experience when I had to go back to the shop to get my Riviera bled again.

It takes little effort to break the bleeder loose a few times to confirm the system has no air pocket, I call that good insurance and once done then you can just monitor the recovery bottle for any change the would indicate loss of coolant.

regards
Mech

There's no harm in bleeding repeatedly, it's just not necessary to do so.

It isn't necessary to use a pressure bleeder either but that is how it is done on the production line.

If you want a ghetto version of the pressure bleeder, a garden hose connected to the recovery hose can be used, pushing past the recovery valve in the radiator cap. That does leave some part of the recovery hose empty though, so there will be air pushed out of that into the recovery tank the first time operating temperature is achieved.

Something else: In the linked video, the front of the car is raised. This is not a good idea. The cooling system is designed to bleed properly with the car level.

[Baltothewolf]

Just got insurance, it was 18$ less a month :O! I was able to insure my '91 Mustang as well and my insurance was still lower then it was when I had the Civic!

[j12piprius]

Originally Posted by XYZ

On a Toyota I once owned it had a very similar problem. It only overheated when under heat stress, such as on very hot days or climbing hills. It ran fine with no overheating in every season except summer. Rather than diagnose which sensor was bad, I wired both the A/C fan and the rad fan to come on instead of just the one rad fan, as was intended. That was a practical solution, but it didn't ultimately get to the source of the problem, which was apparently that of the fan control circuit.

How did you wire them together, and why do you feel the fan control circuit had an issue?

I don't use a/c, but could use the fan on long hills. I'm thinking to take the a/c out and see if the extra space helps the engine keep cool.